


Three Dozen

by NimueOfTheNorth



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Lots of gifts, M/M, Roses, Telling the Team, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 18:38:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13687491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NimueOfTheNorth/pseuds/NimueOfTheNorth
Summary: Spencer reveals that he never really got to do Valentine's Day. Aaron takes it upon himself to make up for that.





	Three Dozen

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for the Romance half of Forever Angst's Valentine's Challenge.

“My most awkward Valentine’s experience was in sixth grade,” JJ told the team. “I had found this little plush bear tied to my locker. He was holding this little pink heart with “Be Mine” embroidered on it. There was also a card. It just said “I think you’re the most beautiful girl in the school. Happy Valentine’s, M”. I was so excited.”

“Sounds sweet. How did that turn awkward?” Emily wanted to know.

“Part of the reason I was so excited was that I thought M was Maddox, one of the coolest guys in our year. He was tall and a great athlete, his parents owned a cinema, and he could take friends for free… he had everything going for him.”

“Awww, little JJ had a crush,” Morgan was teasing goodnaturedly and got a stuck out tongue for his trouble.

“Anyway. I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t want to go up to him and say something but I also didn’t want him to think that I wasn’t interested. This might be my only chance for free cinema, after all. So I eventually screwed up my courage and walked up to him and nicely thanked him. Thing was, he had absolutely no clue what I was talking about.”

Everybody was laughing at her pained expression.

“The teddy had come from Martin, that super shy guy that was good in History and sang in the church choir. Nice kid, really, but everyone had witnessed my embarrassing chat with Maddox, so there was no saving the situation. Totally awkward.”

The team was flying back from a case in Idaho and inspired by the upcoming February 14th had started to share their Valentine’s memories - good, funny, or disastrous. All eyes turned to Morgan next.

“My worst Valentine’s experience was in second grade.”

“That early?” Rossi sounded doubtful. “I find it hard to believe you’ve never screwed up since then.”

“Oh, I did screw up plenty, but never quite as spectacularly. Let’s just say, I learned early on that walking up to a girl and giving her a kiss was not an appropriate strategy of approach.”

“Did she slap you?” If Emily sounded a little too gleeful, everyone ignored it.

“Oh, if only. No, little Jacqueline wiped the floor with me. That girl made sure I only needed one try to learn that particular lesson.”

Everyone was laughing openly at that, and it took them a bit to quiet down again.

“Spencer,” JJ turned to their youngest team member, “you’ve been awfully quiet. You haven’t shared a single memory with us.”

The genius only shrugged. “I don’t have any.”

“What? Come on, pretty boy, you must have done something for Valentine’s at some point in your life.”

“No, I haven’t. I pretty much skipped primary, so I missed the organised card writing in class. I was too young in Highschool to be of any interest to my classmates, and the same was true in college. It would have actually been kinda creepy if they had approached me. And later, I just never dated someone around that time of the year.” He gave another shrug. “So I’ve really never done or experienced any of the typical Valentine’s things. Sorry.”

“No need to apologise, kid,” Rossi said into the silence. “It’s sad that you never had any of this. True, it’s been turned into a complete commercial circus over the years but at its heart, the idea of Valentine’s Day is a nice one, and I hope you get to experience that at some point.”

The others nodded a little subdued but soon went back to sharing stories from their own past.

Nobody seemed to notice that Hotch had grown rather contemplative after what Spencer had said.

 

* * *

 

 

Spencer had made sure to arrive early to the office today so he could leave on time. It was Valentine’s Day, and he was hoping that for once, there would be plans for his evening.

The conversation the team had had on the plane just a few days ago had brought it home yet again how much he had missed out on that front.

But this year, he was finally in a relationship during this supposedly most romantic time of the year.

This year, he was dating Aaron Hotchner.

He still couldn’t believe his luck that his long-kept feeling turned out to be reciprocated and a fluke comment had brought them together about five months earlier. They hadn’t told the team yet but lately had discussed that possibility.

So Spencer really shouldn’t be in doubt about his Valentine’s evening. Surely there was some unwritten law or social more that a couple should have a date on Valentine’s, especially on their first.

The only problem with that was that Aaron had been so wrapped up in meetings and paperwork since their return from Idaho that the two hadn’t really had a chance to talk about not work-related things, not even in the evenings. They each had their own things they liked doing and neither wanted to lose themselves in being a couple.

Spencer sighed while watching the elevator count up the floors. As much as they both liked their arrangement, the last few evenings it had worked against him. And he didn’t feel comfortable asking about their plans in a text message. The slightest sliver of panic went through him at the thought that maybe Aaron expected him to plan something for them. He stamped it down, telling himself that Aaron always knew where Spencer could need some guidance in social matters and never failed to step in, even before they had become lovers.

Arriving at the sixth floor, he dropped his bag and coat at his desk, greeted Emily, who was already there despite it being only half past seven and went to make himself a coffee. He hadn’t made it far down the corridor when he heard a voice behind him call out his name.

“Hey, Dr Reid! I’ve got a special delivery for you.” Turning around he saw Martha from security walking his way. The woman had been on the job as long as he could remember and her small stature belied the fact that she was the one whose bad side you should avoid at all cost. In her hand, she held a travel mug with the logo from Spencer’s favourite coffee place.

“This arrived just after you passed through. Figured I’d rush it up myself before you torture your taste buds with the Muckefuck from the breakroom.”

Spencer smiled both about the much more promising coffee and her heritage showing through in the use of the German term for coffee made from a substitute or otherwise of very bad quality.

“How can that have just arrived? The cafe doesn’t have a delivery service.” He reached for the container of dark mana.

“Don’t worry; the owner brought it herself. She said there were those customers that she was gladly doing the occasional favour for. Not sure if that meant you or the person who ordered this for you. I recognised her immediately. Thanks for the tip, by the way. I had my hubby take me during Christmas season, and you were absolutely right about their selection of traditional cookies being the absolute best.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. And thank you for bringing this up,” he said with a smile on his face.

“Who’s it from? Come on, Dr Reid, open the card. Don’t be a spoilsport!”

He hadn’t even noticed the tiny envelope stuck to the opposite side of the mug. He didn’t have it in himself to deny her the little joy, so he plucked it off and pulled out a card which showed a heart-shaped pink mug with a mountain of whipped cream and sprinkles on top. Flipping it open he read, “ _Good morning, sunshine!_ Sorry, Martha, but there’s no signature.”

“Awww, how mysterious and romantic. I should get back downstairs before the boys get shenanigans in their heads. Have a lovely day!”

“You, too!” was all Spencer managed before she had slipped back into the elevator. Carrying his precious coffee, he made his way back to the bullpen where JJ had arrived in the meantime.

“Morning, Spence. What do you have there?”

“The best coffee in the whole DC area. Valentine’s day does have its perks.”

“Who sent you coffee for Valentine’s day?” Emily sounded envious more than anything else.

“There’s no signature on the card, so it’s difficult to say,” He hedged, settled in with his files, and savoured the delicious brew in small sips. Once the others were engrossed in their work as well and he could get away with it unnoticed, he typed out a text message to Aaron under his desk. _Good morning, happy Valentine’s Day, and thank you very much for the excellent coffee._ Adding a little kissing emoji, he sent it off and went back to his paperwork.

Shortly after 8:30, Martha showed up again, this time carrying a single red rose with an envelope tied to it. “Delivery for Dr Reid.” She placed the rose on top of his inbox and walked off again with a smile.

Spencer just stared at it for a moment, not quite sure what to do with the gesture of a red rose. JJ startled him out of it.

“Open the card, Spence. Staring at it won’t give you any answers.”

The front of the card showed a cupid holding up a sign with the words _You put the “Valentine” in Valentine’s Day_ in sloppy letters. The writing on the inside was done in careful block letters to be less recognisable, but Spencer had no doubt about the sender. The words read _… and every day is Valentine’s Day when I’m with you._

Spencer was smiling and had to pull himself together not to look up to Aaron’s office, but that would give the secret away. JJ and Emily were ahing over the card and rose, but Spencer did his best to brush it off and went back to his work.

When 9:30 came around and Martha showed up again, Spencer was feeling self-conscious. This time she was carrying two roses, a box and another card.

“Oh, young love. It’s been a long time since somebody bothered to give me three gifts for Valentine’s Day,” Martha lamented as she set her load down. “Go on! I wanna know what’s in that box.”

Spencer blushed but pulled out the next card all the same.

This one had a geometric pattern of black and white lines and circles on the front that formed a heart. The message written at the bottom was _Love is like pi - irrational and never-ending_ . On the inside, it read _And that’s why my words fail me. If I spent a thousand years telling you how much I love you, it would never come close to the truth._

Spencer had to swallow at those words. It wasn’t that they hadn’t confessed their feelings for one another before this day, but this went a little further.

Placing the card beside its predecessors, he then unwrapped the box. Pulling the paper away, he found a selection of coffee flavoured chocolate truffles from a chocolaterie that made their goodies completely from scratch. Just the smell when he lifted the lid was absolutely mouthwatering.

“Hmmm, somebody knows you well, my dear,” Martha decided and with a wistful look at the truffles went back to do her job.

“Do we get to try these?” JJ asked with hope in her voice. “They look amazing.”

Emily added her puppy dog eyes but Spencer decided that this was a very good time to be selfish.

“No, I think I should treat this gift with the respect it’s due and savour them all by myself.” He followed right through by plucking one of the little balls from the box and letting it melt on his tongue. “Hmmm, delicious.” He couldn’t help enjoying the crestfallen look the women gave him.

By 10:30, he couldn’t pretend to be surprised by Martha showing up yet again. He was relieved to see her come into the bullpen with only three roses and a card this time.

Spencer had asked Garcia for a vase, figuring if anyone in the BAU knew where one might be hidden, it would be her. This had, of course, lead to her getting the whole story out of him and therefore conveniently being around for this new delivery.

“If this goes on, you’ll be known as flower boy rather than pretty boy,” was Martha’s comment as she added the roses to the ones already in the vase.

Spencer opened the envelope to read the new card. On the front was a picture of a sunset and written into the darkening sky was a quote by Bob Phillips. _Love is a state of mind which has nothing to do with the mind._

The inside of the card put his own feelings almost perfectly into words. _I love loving you. Happy Valentine’s Day!_

Reading that his own feelings were mirrored like this made him incredibly happy and he almost didn’t mind that Garcia was reading along over his shoulder.

“Awww, that’s so cute! But again no signature. Aren’t you curious who’s sending you all of these?”

“Who says I don’t already know?” His teasing was helped by the phone ringing, so the women on the team couldn’t very well pester him about the name of his Valentine.

By the time 11:30 rolled around, even Morgan and Rossi had been caught in the mystery and had found reasons to hang around the bullpen rather than their offices. Spencer just sighed at their nosiness and found himself actually looking forward to what Martha would deliver next.

The others were already getting antsy when she hadn’t arrived five minutes later but Spencer didn’t let that bother him. When the doors opened to let in the security officer, Spencer could feel a mix of relief and excited curiosity around him.

“You must be doing something very right, my dear Doctor,” was Martha’s comment as she arranged four more roses amongst the ones already there and placed a gift bag with another envelope sticking out the top on his desk. “You might yet break the record for most deliveries to one person in a day. Nobody still working in the field has ever gotten close to that.”

Spencer made a face at her. He pulled out the card first. The front just had dark red writing in a very pretty cursive printed on it. _Love is sweet when it is new and sweeter when it is true and sweetest when it is with you._ Yes, it was kitsch but Spencer was touched by the sentiment of the words all the same.

The inside held a longer message this time.

_When you come to me with your hair all messed up, I love you. When you come to me with chocolate all over your lips, I love you. When you crack silly jokes with me, I love you. I love you because you bring out my own nerdiness. Thanks for being my silly soulmate. I love you!_

Those words really meant a lot to Spencer. He had always worried that he would never be fully accepted just the way he was, with all his quirks and imperfections. Aaron was one of the few people who had ever made him feel like he could be totally himself and to find this acceptance expressed in a love note like this meant the world to him. He also loved the thought that he was having a similar effect on his ever so reserved lover.

He’d read the outside of the card aloud but the words on the insight he kept to himself and no amount of pouting on Garcia’s part would change that.

“So, show us what you got this round, pretty boy,” Morgan prodded him on.

Under some red tissue paper, Spencer found something white and soft. Once he pulled it out of the bag, it revealed itself to be an Adipose plushie. It was one of the fan items he had always wanted but felt a bit silly about getting so holding one in his hands now made him smile happily.

“Those are from Doctor Who, right?” JJ asked. “It looks cute, but aren’t they some of the bad guys?”

“Not really,” Spencer explained. “It’s a bit complicated as they develop as parasites of sorts in humans before being born but that could have been a win-win situation. The Adipose we see in the show are just newborn babies and therefore innocent. But even their parents didn’t implant them into humans and didn’t know exactly what was being done. The only thing they are guilty of is not paying enough attention to what kind of character they hired as a midwife.

“It’s only Miss Foster’s lack of scruple and decency that creates the problem. She used humans with no knowledge about aliens as incubators under a pretence, and then when discovered, was willing to sacrifice those humans’ lives to fulfil her contract and cover her tracks. But imagine if it were done with fully informed consent. Losing a pound of fat and helping to create a new life with no real effort or discomfort sounds like something a lot of people would readily agree to. You’d just need somebody with a well-developed sense of responsibility in charge.”

He really shouldn’t be surprised that his teammates were mostly just blinking at him. Garcia was quietly giggling. They had discussed the implications of the Adipose before so she completely understood what he was talking about. Of all the others, Morgan recovered first.

“I don’t think I understood all that properly but it still sounds less crazy than having botox injected into your body so I’m sure people would do it. The little guy does look cute and as long as you’re happy with your present, so am I. Still not telling us who you’ve impressed this much?”

“Nope.” Spencer grinned. He was really enjoying the mix of interest and envy towards his love life.

Everybody went back to their paperwork and consults because nobody wanted to stay late today.

It was just past twelve and Spencer was contemplating whether he wanted to go out and have a nice lunch or if it was better to just get something from the cafeteria and stay in the office so he wouldn’t risk missing another Valentine’s gift.

He had never been sure how he would feel being the focus of somebody’s attention like this and was surprised how comfortable he was with it. He was sure it had a lot to do with the gifts coming from Aaron and Spencer knowing that there was no hidden agenda behind it, just a wish to make him happy. He would have to come up with a surprise at some point to show Aaron his affection just as well, but for today he figured this was all his to enjoy.

He was still caught in his thoughts when Aaron stopped by his desk.

“Reid, do you mind joining me for lunch? I received some requests from scientists that I would like your input on.”

“Sure. Where are we going?”

“Just the little sandwich place off base if you don’t mind. I’m not in the mood for anything big.”

Spencer liked the place and didn’t mind at all.

After they had placed their orders, he leaned forward a little conspiringly under the pretence of looking into the file Aaron had brought. “You don’t have things delivered hourly, do you? You conscripted  Martha’s help and deposited everything with her.”

“I might. That woman sure is a secret romantic if I ever met one.”

“Thank you, for everything. I’m starting to see the appeal of this holiday. I’m just sorry I don’t have anything for you.” He looked down on his hands a little worried about Aaron’s reaction.

“Hey, don’t worry. This one is just for you. You can do something next year or we make plans for that together.”

Spencer’s smile was brilliant. Aaron’s certainty that they would still be together a year from now encouraged his biggest hopes.

“Not to sound greedy, but did you make plans for this evening?”

“Yes, I did. Jessica is watching Jack and I want to take you out on a date.”

“I’d like that.” Spencer turned pensieve. “You know, with all those roses and cards you’re stoking the curiosity of the team. I don’t think we can keep us hidden much longer now that everyone knows there is something to look for. We do work with the best profilers after all.”

“I know. We never really finished that talk about telling the others. How do you feel about it?”

“I’d like to tell them. As much as I enjoy teasing them today, they’re all important to us and we to them, and I don’t want to keep something so important from them any longer.”

“Good. I feel the same. Wanna do it when we leave later? They wouldn’t dare interrupt our date, so it forces them to cool down a little before reacting.”

“Yeah, that’s a good plan.”

Their lunch arrived at that point and the conversation turned to the requests Aaron had used to lure him out of the office.

Back at his desk, Spencer was just contemplating his roses when Martha arrived at 1:30 with another five and dropped them into the vase.

“Good thing you’re not allergic. Guys are still on break so I need to head back.”

Spencer waved after her and reached for the new card she had placed at the bottom of the vase.

There was a picture of a white dove on the front with a rolled parchment hanging from its beak. _Be mine for today, for tomorrow and forever._

The inside read _I may not be your first love, first kiss, first sight, or first date but I hope to be your last everything._

Even with the conversation they’d just had over lunch, those words made Spencer’s heart flutter. He hadn’t noticed JJ reading along over his shoulder and startled when she repeated the words out loud to the rest of the team.

“This is so sweet and romantic.”

“Well, she is the first to send you Valentine’s cards, so there’s that,” Morgan commented in good humour.

“What makes you think it’s a woman?” Spencer shot back and enjoyed the baffled expression on his friend’s face. He might as well lay a bit of groundwork for their big reveal by the end of the workday.

“You’re accumulating quite the bouquet of roses. I wonder how much you’ll end up with,” Emily tried to smooth over the moment.

“36.” At everyone’s puzzled expression he felt the need to elaborate. “First delivery was one rose, then two and so on. He skipped lunchtime and now the fifth delivery was five roses. If you keep that going with things arriving by the half hour, 4:30 is the last arrival time within regular office hours. That would be the eighth delivery, and adding up the numbers from one to eight makes 36, simple as that.”

“That’s… clever,” came from Morgan.

“As if Reid would ever date some simpleton. He’d be bored out of his mind,” was Emily’s comment and they thankfully left it at that.

Nobody even pretended not to await Martha at 2:30 and crowded around Spencer’s desk after she had placed a small box on his desk pushed the next six roses into his hands, murmuring about not being his florist. After getting the roses into the water, he read the accompanying card first. _You are the sun in my days, the moon in my nights, the waves in my ocean, and the love of my life._ Little drawings illustrated each of the lines and gave the card a whimsical flair.

Opening the card, he spared the others the trouble and read the message out loud. “ _I am glad you allowed me to become your boyfriend because now I know you’ll be loved and spoiled the way you should for Valentine’s Day.”_

He pulled the bow off the small velvet box and was very glad that it was too large to be a ring box. That would have been more than he could take today. Inside he found a tie pin made of white gold with the most delicate structure at the top.

“What is that?” JJ asked.

“That’s a structural representation of the molecule I wrote my chemistry thesis about,” Spencer said with awe in his voice.

“That’s specific,” Rossi commented. “But I’d say that beau of yours is truly spoiling you. It’s nice to know you found someone who appreciates you.” He slapped Spencer on the shoulder and went back to his office, effectively breaking up the little huddle.

Spencer was wondering how the others hadn’t noticed that Aaron was the only one to not show any interest in the going ons.

3:30 saw the predicted seven roses, a card and Martha staying for a moment to see him read it. “Today is rather crazy, Valentine’s day usually is. But coming up here and seeing your eyes light up makes the crazy easier to take.”

This hour’s card had another quote over a black and white picture of a couple holding hands. This time it was by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. _I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I’m with you._

Spencer also read the inside to Martha and anyone else listening in. He figured she deserved as much for playing along with Aaron’s little scheme.

 _“I can only hope that I make you half as happy as you make me._ Oh, he does that. I’m happier than I ever imagined I’d be.”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be, sweetheart. Hold on to it and never take it for granted.” Spencer had rarely heard Martha use such an earnest tone and just nodded in response. It was sound advice, after all.

By the time 4:30 rolled around, everyone was doing their best to wrap up what they were working on and preparing to leave. That didn’t mean that they didn’t pay attention when Martha came up one last time with the last batch of roses.

“And eight makes three dozen.” She happily stuck them between the others one by one. “If I didn’t know better, I would ask what he did that required this kind of apology.” She handed over the card with a grin and then starred Garcia into submission when she opened her mouth to ask what exactly Martha knew that nobody else did.

This time the card was made of heavy, high-quality paper and the words on the front were embossed in gold lettering. It was the beginning of a poem.

 

_You’ve given me a reason_

_For smiling once again,_

_You’ve filled my life with peaceful dreams_

_and you’ve become my closest friend._

_You’ve shared your heartfelt secrets_

_And your trust you’ve given me,_

_You showed me how to feel again_

_to laugh, and love, and see._

_Jessie B. Ritterhouse_

 

It struck Spencer how very much those words fit the two of them and how somebody who didn’t know them could capture the essence of all they were to each other so perfectly. Opening the card, he found the words inside for the first time not in block letters but in Aaron’s distinctive handwriting.

_I thought that falling in love was going to be hard, that dreams don’t just come true, but you have proven me wrong and I am so very thankful._

_I’m picking you up for our dinner date. Just wait once you’re done._

Spencer smiled happily and tried his best not to let the others see the card. There was no chance any of them wouldn’t recognise the writing and that would give it away too early.

“I’m being picked up for a special dinner date, it seems. Guess I better make sure I’m ready to leave on time. Let me work in peace.” He waved his hands to shoo them all away and pretended to be busy. He had actually been done with all his files for 15 minutes already and had since just played around with a little side project.

At precisely 5 pm, the lights went off in Aaron’s office and the man himself came down the few steps and stopped beside Spencer’s desk.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

As he got up, Aaron held out his coat for him to slip it on. It had been something for Spencer to get used to but now he quite liked the gentlemanly gesture.

“Do I get a hint as to where we are going?”

“No, you’ll just have to wait till we get there.”

Spencer pouted but all that got him was a chaste kiss on his bottom lip. You could have heard the proverbial needle drop in the bullpen but they pretended not to notice. Aaron laced their fingers together and tugged him away gently.

“Do you want to take your roses?”

“Do we have time to drop them of at my place? I wouldn’t want them to wilt.”

Aaron nodded and grabbed a newspaper somebody had thrown into a wastebasket earlier to wrap them in.

Spencer felt a little awkward walking out of the office with an arm full of roses. But as long as his other hand was safely entwined with Aaron’s, nothing could really bother him.

The team was still looking after them with their mouths hanging open by the time the elevator doors closed on them and Spencer decided that yes, he could definitely get used to Valentine’s Day.

**Author's Note:**

> The various love notes from Aaron came from Valentine's collections online.


End file.
